Choice
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

US intelligence failures are legendary, while successes seldom are recognized. As a consequence, secrecy has kept scholars from discovering the valuable contribution of Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski in winning the Cold War. Kuklinski, a former Polish general staff officer, initially volunteered to work for the US in 1972 and continued until he was exposed nearly a decade later. During that period, the CIA received over 40,000 documents involving Soviet efforts to introduce atomic weapons to Poland and Moscow's clandestine plan to crush Solidarity. Investigative journalist Weiser (The New York Times) reconstructed Kuklinski's espionage activities in penetrating the Warsaw Pact from materials found in the previously closed CIA archives and rare interviews with retired CIA agents. Not only does Weiser chronicle Washington's infiltration of Moscow's high command, but he also describes the technological innovations used by Langley to communicate with their prized agent, code-named "Gull." Unlike other legendary spies, such as Oleg Penkovsky who betrayed the Soviet Union out of revenge, Kuklinski was motivated by Polish nationalism to approach Washington. This book is a significant achievement in Cold War scholarship involving the role of intelligence operations and the collapse of the Iron Curtain. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. C. C. Lovett Emporia State University